Fracking America:

Sacrificing Health and the Environment for Short-Term Economic Benefit

By Walter M. Brasch

Fracking Americais a fact-based overview of the issues surrounding the natural gas industry and fracking. Although it focuses upon the Marcellus Shale, it looks at cases and issues in other parts of the country. The book is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of the science and engineering of the process to extract natural gas nor an extensive discussion of the economic, health, environmental, and political issues. It is meant as a basic reference to acquaint people with the issues, with the hope they will dig deeper into areas that directly concern them and rally their friends and neighbors to help protect the health and environment of the people, wildlife, and natural vegetation.

“Fracking America belongs on the bookshelf of everyone in the vast movement fighting the fracking scourge. It will help shape and drive this battle in the years ahead.” —Bill McKibben, author and Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College; founder, 350.org

“Fracking America is highly recommended for anyone studying the subject at any level, whether they are newcomers to fracking or activists who have only researched environmental impact, and need to fill in the blanks on political processes and impacts that hold important questions about American freedoms and political maneuvering.” —Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Walter Brasch has presented the many complicated issues surrounding shale gas drilling in a clear, easy to understand manner without over-simplifying them. This book is packed with information everyone living in any area being drilled or likely to be drilled by the gas industry—needs to know about the environmental, public health and safety, and economic risks this dangerous practice poses.”—Karen Feridun, founder, Berks Gas Truth

[Fracking America] “is a detailed description of dollar signs tattooed on the eyelids of politicians who, thus blinded to any potential physical or economic danger, cleared the way for a huge industry to operate virtually unhampered in the so-called ‘Marcellus Shale play.’ Painstakingly researched and readable, it is a narrative worth reading by fracking supporters, opponents and anyone who reports on the subject. [It] is an indispensible resource for any student of energy production history or reporter of current environmental and political affairs—or anyone who wants to know more about the natural gas industry than has been exposed by either the general media or the politicians who help protect it.”­ —JohnMesseder,Gettysburg (Pa.) Times

“This is one of the best books to really drill down into what fracking is all about, wherever you live. One really great thing is his painstaking research into the many social impacts of fracking. . . . Recommended for anyone facing fracking, and everyone concerned about this wrong-turn industry.” —Alex Smith, EcoShock Radio Network

“[This book] is woven together in a cohesive way that takes the reader through the complexities of issues surrounding shale gas drilling. If you are not alarmed and fearful while reading Brasch’s book, you are not sufficiently engaging its content. If I were teaching a course on environmental ethics, Brasch’s books would be on the reading list.”—The Rev.Leah Schade,EcoWatch

“A must read for anyone living in the frack zones Throughout the world.”—Shale Shock Media

“The fact that Dr. Brasch is careful in his fact-checking does not mean that he lacks aggressiveness in the pursuit of wrong-doing. On the contrary, he does not take his eye off the quarry.” —Chuck Brown, editor, Common Sense 2.

"A remarkable piece of work, and a great resource for anyone working on the issue."

—Joe Uehlein, labor/environmental activist and musician

"An indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand natural gas fracking and the environmental risks it presents. But it is the politics of fracking that will cause the greatest outrage. The gas boom has brought lower natural gas and electricity prices, but at what cost to our future?”—DAVID DeKOK, Fire Underground: the Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire; Unseen Danger: A Tragedy of People, Government, and Centralia; The Epidemic: A Collusion of Power, Privilege, and Public Health.“Dr. Brasch has meticulously researched the issues behind hydraulic fracture mining (fracking) in all its complexity: geologic, environmental, social, economic and political. Shale gas being touted more and more as the greener energy of our future makes this book an essential reader for anyone who wants to safeguard their health and the environment.”—Carol Terracina Hartman, environmental journalist

Fracking – Economic Godsend, or Environmental Hell?

The Neil Haley Show Walter Brasch interview

Before The First Snow: Stories From the Revolution,
looks at the counterculture of America from 1964 to Jan. 15, 1991, the
eve of the Persian Gulf War. Underlying plot themes look at nuclear
energy, the environment, the anti-war/peace movement, civil rights,
worker rights, and the American mass media. Its topics are as relevant
now as they were a generation ago.

"First-rate fiction that explores and contemplates modern American history, culture, politics and journalism. A rare combination of excellent fiction-writing and deep thought. Wonderful story-telling interwoven with sharp insights about our times and culture. There are so many fresh sunbursts of thought in this book that I lost count. What Brasch and his characters have to say about the intermingling of corporate and government power alone makes this book worth reading—but it is rich in illumination of many other important issues we all should be pondering. You can’t put it down while reading it, and can’t forget it after you’ve finished it." —Dan Rather